The U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for shipping hazardous materials are located in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Parts 100-500. General specifications for "Type A" radioactive material packaging, known as "Specification 7A" (DOT-7A), are in Title 49, Part 178, Section 178.350 (49 C.F.R. S178.350).
A variety of different packaging types have been evaluated by U.S. Department of Energy, Division of Quality Verification and Transportation Safety. For shipping solid materials, these packaging types include steel drums, wooden boxes, fiberboard containers, and steel boxes. Materials shipped may include solid particles of any size, such as sand concrete, debris, soil, etc., and solid objects such as concrete chunks, motors, pumps, etc.
With respect to steel boxes, it is always desirable to increase the load carrying capacity of the container. Yet, it is difficult to effect structural changes to achieve increased strength once the general interior and exterior shape and dimensions of the container have been established. Thus, a need exists to retrofit an existing container design with additional structural features to enhance the strength of the container without substantially changing the general shape and dimensions of the container.